Experimental Investigation of Permeability Reduction Due to Migration of Non-swelling Clay Minerals

Ashoori, Siavash; Safavi, Ehsan; Moghaddasi, Jamshid; Kolahkaj, Parvin

doi:10.22050/ijogst.2021.133602

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Ahwaz Faculty of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran

² M.S.Student, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran

³ Associate Professor, Department of Petroleum Engineering, Petroleum University of Technology, Ahwaz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22050/ijogst.2021.133602

Abstract

Formation damage is reported during the secondary and tertiary stages of reservoir lifespan. One of the unpleasant sequences of formation damage caused by fine particles is permeability reduction due to pore plugging and bridging. The fine particles might exist initially in a porous medium or be introduced by external sources. In addition, there is a variety of particle types and sizes. The current research focuses on the effects of non-swelling clay minerals motions, such as the laminar ones found in Iranian sandstone reservoirs, on permeability. For this purpose, sand packs in various glass bead sizes and containing aluminum oxide as fine particles were designed to scrutinize the motion of fine particles under various pressure differences, flow rates, and concentrations. It was concluded that for each of the three sand packs regarded as the porous media in this study and composed of fine glass beads with different sizes, there is a critical flow rate as a function of glass bead size. For the flow rates lower than the critical flow rate, bridges form stably and lead to the most severe formation damage. After reaching the critical flow rate, the bridges weaken and break, and relative permeability will be independent of the flow rate. It was deduced that permeability reduction and formation damage are directly proportional to particle concentration and inversely proportional to glass bead size.

Highlights

The effects of non-swelling clay minerals motions on permeability;
The motion of fine particles under various pressure differences, flow rates, and concentrations;
Specifying the critical flow rate for destroying the clay bridges;
Permeability reduction and formation damage are proportional to the concentration of particles and the inverse of glass bead size

Keywords

20.1001.1.23452412.2021.10.3.2.5

Main Subjects

Petroleum Engineering

References

Aadland, Reidun C., Carter, J. Dziuba, Ellinor, B. Heggset, Kristin Syverud, Ole Torsæter, Torleif Holt, Ian, D., Gates, and Steven, L., Bryant., Identification of Nanocellulose Retention Characteristics in Porous Media, Nanomaterials, Vol. 8, No. 7, 2018.

Alakbari, F. S., Mohyaldinn, M. E., Muhsan, A. S., Hasan, N., and Ganat, T., Chemical Sand Consolidation: from Polymers to Nanoparticles, Polymers, Vol. 12, No. 5, 2020.

Amyx, J. W., Bass, D. M. and Whitin, R. L., Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, Physical Properties, [By] Amyx, Bass, J.W., Daniel M.,... Whiting, Robert L., McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1960.

Bouddour, A., J. L. Auriault, and M. Mhamdi-Alaoui., Erosion and Deposition of Solid Particles in Porous Media: Homogenization Analysis of A Formation Damage, Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 25, No. 2, p. 121–146, 1996.

Fanchi, J. R., Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation, Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation, 2006.

Galal, S.K., Elgibaly, A. A. and Elsayed, S. K., Formation Damage due to Fines Migration and Its Remedial Methods, Egyptian Journal of Petroleum, Vol. 25, No. 4, p. 515–524, 2016.

Green, Don W., and Paul Willhite, G., Enhanced Oil Recovery. Richardson, TX: Henry L. Doherty Memorial Fund of AIME, Society of Petroleum Engineers, 1998.

Gulick, K. E., and William D. Mccain, Jr., Waterflooding Heterogeneous Reservoirs: an Overview of Industry Experiences and Practices, International Petroleum Conference and Exhibition of Mexico, Villahermosa, Mexico, 1998.

Gunter, W. D., Zhou, Z., and Perkins, E. H., Modeling Formation Damage Caused By Kaolinite from 25 To 300 Degrees Centigrade in The Oil Sand Reservoirs of Alberta, SPE Advanced Technology Series, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 206–213, 1994.

Kantzas, A., Bryan, J. and Taheri, S. Fundamentals of Fluid Flow in Porous Media, Calgary, University of Calgary, Canada.

Karazincir, O., Williams, W., and Rijken, P., Prediction of Fines Migration Through Core Testing, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 2017.

Khilar, K. C., H. S. Fogler, and Ahluwalia, J. S., Sandstone Water Sensitivity: Existence of A Critical Rate of Salinity Decrease for Particle Capture, Chemical Engineering Science, Vol. 38, No. 5, p. 789–800, 1983.

Moghadasi, J., Jamialahmadi, M., Müller-Steinhagen, H., Sharif, A., Ghalambor, A., Izadpanah, M.R., and Motaie, E., Scale Formation in Iranian Oil Reservoir and Production Equipment During Water Injection, International Symposium on Oilfield Scale, 2003.

Moghadasi, J., Jamialahmadi, M., Müller-Steinhagen, H., Sharif, A., Izadpanah, M.R., Motaei, E., and Barati, R., Formation Damage in Iranian Oil Fields, International Symposium and Exhibition on Formation Damage Control, 2002.

Moghadasi, J., Müller-Steinhagen, H., Jamialahmadi, M., and Sharif, A. Theoretical and Experimental Study of Particle Movement and Deposition in Porous Media During Water Injection, Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, Vol. 43, No. 3, p. 163–181, 2004a.

Muecke, T. W., Formation Fines and Factors Controlling Their Movement in Porous Media, Journal of Petroleum Technology, Vol. 31, No. 2, p. 144–150, 1979.

Nguyen, The-B., Moon-Seo, P., Jee-Hee, L., Hang-Seok, Ch., and Shin-In, H., Characteristics of Bentonite Filter Cake on Vertical Cutoff Walls Evaluated by Modified Fluid Loss Test, Journal of The Korean Geotechnical Society, Vol. 27, 2011.

Qingjian, Li., and Prigiobbe, V., Numerical Simulations of The Migration of Fine Particles Through Porous Media, Transport in Porous Media, Vol. 122, 2018.

Rezaei Gomari, S., and Nikhil, J., Study of The Effect of Clay Particles on Low Salinity Water Injection in Sandstone Reservoirs, Energies, Vol. 10, 2017.

Satman, A., Sustainability of Geothermal Doublets, 2011.

Sazali, Y. A., Sazali, W. M. L., Ibrahim, J. M., Graham, G., and Gödeke., S., Investigation of Fines Migration for A High-pressure, High-Temperature Carbonate Gas Reservoir Offshore Malaysia, Journal of Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology, Vol. 10, No. 6, p. 2387–2399, 2020.

Sharifipour, Milad, Peyman Pourafshary, and Ali Nakhaee., Study of The Effect of Clay Swelling on The Oil Recovery Factor in Porous Media Using A Glass Micromodel, Applied Clay Science, Vol. 141, p. 125–131, 2017.

Terry, Ronald E., Brandon Rogers, J., and Craft, B. C., Applied Petroleum Reservoir Engineering, 2015.

Tongchao, N., Jichun, Wu., Kaixuan, Li., and Jiang, J., Permeability Estimation based on the Geometry of Pore Space Via Random Walk on Grids, Geofluids, No.9240203, 2019.

Troeh, FR, and LM Thompson., Soils and Soil Fertility, 2005.

Willhite, G. Paul., Waterflooding, 1986.

Wright, Ch. C., and Chilingarian, G. V., Chapter 9 Water Quality for Subsurface Injection, in Developments in Petroleum Science, Edited By G. V. Chilingarian, J. O. Robertson and S. Kumar, Elsevier, P. 319–371, 1989.

Zhang, N. S., Somerville, J. M., and Todd, A. C., An Experimental Investigation of The Formation Damage Caused by Produced Oily Water Injection, Offshore Europe, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, 1993.

Iranian Journal of Oil and Gas Science and Technology

Experimental Investigation of Permeability Reduction Due to Migration of Non-swelling Clay Minerals

References

References

Volume 10, Issue 3 - Serial Number 36
July 2021
Pages 20-38

Experimental Investigation of Permeability Reduction Due to Migration of Non-swelling Clay Minerals

References

References

Volume 10, Issue 3 - Serial Number 36July 2021Pages 20-38

Volume 10, Issue 3 - Serial Number 36
July 2021
Pages 20-38